Claude Tupou has signed his contract yesterday Tuesday 31 to officially become the new CEO for Tonga’s Ministry of Education and Training (MET).
This came after Tupou agreed to quit as acting CEO in March and became Deputy CEO for Secondary Schools, a position he previously held.
The government announced at the time the shift was to allow further negotiations on Tupou’s contract agreement.
MET said this morning Tupou has signed “his contract yesterday, thus his contract as the new CEO for Education and Training was effective as of yesterday, 31 May 2016”.
“He will be stationed at the Ministry’s Head Office, Vuna Road as from today, 1st June 2016”, the statement said.
Tonga’s Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet Dr Palenitina Langaʻoi has told the Pacific Games Council the kingdom would welcome being dropped as host of the 2019 Games
Dr Langa’oi’s comments came in a strongly worded letter, which has been seen by Kaniva News. It was sent in response to a warning by the Chair of the Pacific Games Council that Tonga could lose the competition if it sacked Lord Sevele-‘O-Vailahi as chair of the kingdom’s Games Organising Committee.
The letter said the government would stand by its decision to dismiss Lord Sevele.
It was dated May 20, just a week before the government removed him from his position.
Now the Tongan Government has told the Pacific Games Council it would stop financially supporting the Games Organising Committee if it continues to endorse Lord Sevele as committee chair.
Dr Langaʻoi said the government would welcome a decision to cancel Tonga as the host of the next Games.
“The government of Tonga is prepared to withdraw all of its funding and support towards the operations of the OC should the matter at hand remain unresolved,” she said.
“The government of Tonga welcomes the PGC to withdraw the Pacific Games of 2019 from Tonga if you insist on your own unwarranted terms and conditions.”
Today the President of the Pacific Games Council, Vidhya Lakhan, hit back and told the Tongan government its move to terminate Lord Sevele’s office was “null and void.”
He said the power to terminate or appoint members of Tonga’s organising committee rested with the kingdom’s national sporting body, TASANOC and the Pacific Games Committee, not the government.
However, the Tongan government has defended its actions, saying it had acted in the best interests of the country. It said the government was bound by the Tonga Pacific Games Organisation Act of 2013, along with TASANOC and the Pacific Games Committee.
Last week the Tongan government demanded the Pacific Organising Committee’s Chairman Lord Sevele vacate his office on Friday, May 27 by 4.30pm.
The government also announced it had appointed Tonga’s Solicitor General Sione Sisifā as the Interim CEO and Chairman of the Organising Committee (OC) until further notice.
In a press release issued last Friday, May 27, the government said its decision to remove Lord Sevele was based on a significant downgrading of his role since the Government Facilities Committee took over most of the committee’s duties.
It said that as a sovereign state Tonga would not submit to the Pacific Games Committee when it came to deciding who to employ to facilitate the successful implementation of the Games.
Radio Australia quoted Lord Sevele this evening as saying the games belonged to Tonga and not its government.
The main points
Tonga’s Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet Dr Palenitina Langaʻoi has told the Pacific Games Council it would welcome being dropped as host of the 2019 Games
Dr Langaʻoi’s comments came in a strongly worded letter, which was sent in response to a warning by the Chair of the Pacific Games Council that Tonga could lose the competition if it sacked Lord Sevele-‘o-Vailahi as chair of the kingdom’s Games Organising Committee.
Last week the Tongan government demanded the Pacific Organising Committee’s Chairman Lord Sevele-‘O-Vailahi vacate his office on May 27.
It said Tonga would not submit to the Pacific Games Committee on who to employ.
Lopeti Talafekau Soafa has pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of a Japanese volunteer worker last year.
Soafa, 18, was sentenced to four years imprisonment by Hon. Justice Cato in the Supreme Court.
The assault occurred about 7.30pm on October 16 last year when Soafa tricked his way into the woman’s house.
In his report on the case, Justice Cato said the assault had been a terrifying and humiliating experience for a young woman who had come to Tonga on voluntary service.
She was flown home by the Japanese authorities after the attack.
“She does not accept the prisoner’s apology for what she described , in my view appropriately, as ‘these horrible crimes.”
Soafa was drunk when he assaulted the Japanese woman, who fought back and screamed for help.
Passers-by heard her cries and saw the pair struggling. Soafa escaped through the bedroom window, but left behind some of his clothes and a mobile phone.
He admitted to the assault when he was arrested.
Hon. Justice Cato said he reduced Soafa’s sentence to four years and mitigated the last 12 months because of the prisoner’s youth, his early guilty plea and acceptance of responsibility and some attempts to rehabilitate himself by involvement with a church group.
Once released, Soafa will be on probation for 12 months, during which time he must not make any attempt to contact the complainant in Japan and must attend a course on alcohol and drug abuse run by the Salvation Army and a course on sexual abuse at the Woman’s Crisis Centre.
The main points
Lopeti Talafekau Soafa has pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of a Japanese volunteer worker last year.
Soafa, 18, was sentenced to four years imprisonment by Hon. Justice Cato in the Supreme Court.
The assault occurred on October 16 last year when Soafa tricked his way into the woman’s house.
In his report on the case, Justice Cato said the assault had been a terrifying and humiliating experience for a young woman who had come to Tonga on voluntary
A new tobacco control campaign was launched today in Tonga to warn people about the deadly effects of second-hand smoke exposure on children.
The campaign, known as Tuku Ifi Leva (quit smoking now) by the Ministry of Health says 46 percent of men and 13 percent of women smoking tobacco in Tonga are among the highest in the world.
“Up to half of these men and women can be expected to die as a direct result of their smoking habits”, the Ministry of Health said.
Dr Reynold ‘Ofanoa, Chief Medical Officer Public Health at the Ministry of Health, said today: “We know that smokers will lose about 10 years of their life. That is ten years without children, families and loved ones. We believe all Tongans have rights to live smokefree”.
And to stand an even better chance of quitting, Tongan residents are encouraged to contact Health Ministry on its new toll-free Quitline 0800 333.
The commitment by the government to help reduce smoking to minimal levels reached an important phase early this year after Parliament passed a new tobacco law prohibiting smoking in bars, clubs, restaurants and a range of other places.
The Tuku Ifi Leva campaign was part of The Tonga National Strategy to Prevent and Control Non-Communicable Disease 2015-2020 (The National NCD Strategy).
“Ongoing delivery of the National NCD Strategy, including the Tuku Ifi Leva campaign, is made possible through the support of the Australian Government, the Tonga Health Promotion Foundation (TongaHealth), and the World Health Organization”.
A man who threw a pot of boiling water over his wife will serve four years in jail.
Siosaia Langi Naufahu was convicted by Hon. Justice Cato, who said the attack was pre-meditated and had left his wife mentally and physically scarred.
The attack occurred around daybreak on August 24 last year when the wife was preparing breakfast at their house in Sopu.
In his report on the case, the judge said Naufahu drank, was controlling and there had been domestic violence in the past. The couple had been married for 30 years and had nine children.
The marriage had deteriorated over the years, particularly since she returned from a course in Vanuatu in 2009. The judge said the marriage was unhappy and violent. The court was told that the wife had conducted a number of extramarital relationships.
Hon. Justice Cato said Naufahu had at one time run a reasonably successful business. He said the prisoner appeared to present one image to the public, but was another person at home.
The judge described this as “a Jekyll and Hyde personality” and occurred “particularly… where alcohol has been involved.”
As a result of the attack his wife received burns to 35-40% of her body and was on life support for five days. One hand and eye have been permanently damaged.
“A victim impact report states that she was in hospital for a month after that,” Hon Justice Cato said.
“She was obviously in great pain and the report indicates that not only she has residual physical effects from the incident but she has suffered understandingly marked psychological effects as well.
“It must have been a terrifying experience for her. Sadly, it would seem some of the children in the large family of nine seem to taken the side of the father despite the cruel nature of their father’s offending”.
The judge said the family still had four children who needed support. The wife has not returned home and plans to file for divorce.
Naufahu was sentenced to five and a half years in jail, with 18 months mitigated. He was also sentenced to 10 months for domestic violence, to be served at the same time as the main sentence.
The final part of his sentence was suspended on condition that he be of good behaviour for two years following his release, that he attend a course on drug and alcohol addiction run by the Salvation Army, that he attend a course on domestic violence run the Women’s Crisis Centre and that he have no contact with his wife unless she indicates to his probation officer that she is willing to see him.
The main points
A man who threw a pot of boiling water over his wife will serve four years in jail.
Siosaia Langi Naufahu was convicted by Hon. Justice Cato, who said the attack was pre-meditated and had left his wife mentally and physically scarred.
As a result of the attack his wife received burns to 35-40% of her body and was on life support for five days. One hand and eye have been permanently damaged.
Naufahu was sentenced to five and a half years in jail, with 18 months mitigated. He was also sentenced to 10 months for domestic violence, to be served at the same time as the main sentence.
The government of Tonga has announced June 22, 2016 a special public holiday to mark Tupou College’s 150th anniversary.
The oldest boys boarding school in the kingdom is celebrating its anniversary next month with the first event on June 17.
The six-day celebration will be concluded on June 24 with an evening prayer service organised by the college and representatives from Newington College in Sydney.
The two colleges have a long history of connection since the founder of Tupou College Late Dr James Eagan Moulton was a lecturer at Newington before he was approached by Late King Tupou 1 to come to Tonga and started the college in 1866.
Paula Bennett’s offer of $5,000 to get homeless families out of Auckland is just a cynical, desperate ploy to look like she’s doing something about the housing crisis, says Jenny Salesa, MP for Manukau East.
You’d think she would have learnt from her previous attempt to push South Auckland Pacific people out and drive them to small South Island towns that had only six or so spare houses state houses and insufficient support for employment placements.
“There was strong push-back from the regions then, which hadn’t been consulted and didn’t have spare houses or support infrastructure for these families.
“Many of the people desperate for a home are working. They have children at local schools. They are part of communities. Paying them to walk away from a job and their support networks here and shift to a distant town is just not an option for many families.
“The Minster’s recent emergency-housing-fund announcement was more of the same. She was forced to admit that the 3,000 “new” places for emergency accommodation she’d promised were not actually new at all, just existing beds.
“Emergency accommodation in Auckland is so full that vulnerable, homeless families are being put up in motels, which is plunging them into unmanageable debt. They must eventually pay back to Work and Income the costs of their emergency housing stay at motels, which could be thousands of dollars.
“Neither of these “answers” is going to get desperate families out of sleeping in cars or overcrowded garages before winter sets in. These ill-conceived, knee-jerk reactions, are not well considered plans to address Auckland’s runaway
Labour MP Jenny Salesa Latu
housing crisis.
“This is yet more evidence this Government’s housing policy is a shambles and is failing many New Zealand families. In eight years they’ve barely dented the more than 40,000 house shortfall which Auckland is facing let alone kept up with the extra 13,000 new homes needed each year just to keep up with population increases. Their new budget doesn’t address the housing crisis either.
“A society is judged by how it looks after and cares for its most vulnerable citizens. In this respect, in the area of housing, the national Government has failed our poor and vulnerable children.
“This out-of-touch Government must realise that the obvious thing to do in a housing crisis is to stop selling state houses and to build more homes. This is what Labour would do,” says Jenny Salesa.
The Tongan government has announced the termination of the South Pacific Games Chairman Lord Sevele-‘O-Vailahi on May 27, 2016 at 4.30pm.
The government has appointed Tonga’s Solicitor General Sione Sisifā as the Interim CEO and Chairman of the Organising Committee (OC) until further notice.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said: “This decision is based on the significant downgrade of the role of the OC CEO/Chairman since 5 February 2016.
“This occurred when the Government Facilities Committee (GFC) took over the majority of the OC’s role and having inherited over 60 percent of the responsibilities of the OC CEO/Chairman.
“The position is currently being re-evaluated by the Remuneration Authority before it will be re-advertised in due course”.
The news came after the Pacific Games Council chair Vidhy Lakhan warned the kingdom could lose the international tournament.
Lakhan told Tonga’s Audit and Governance Committee which is headed by the Prime Minister that if its proposal to ask for Lord Sevele’s resignation as chair of the Games’ organising committee went ahead, the Pacific Games Council would start looking at the termination clauses of the host country agreement signed by Tonga.
The government however said in its media statement today Tonga is a sovereign state and it has the right to decide what is best to do to make sure the Games will be successful.
“The decision is in line with Tonga as a sovereign state, Tonga’s Public Financial Management Act for frugal and prudent utilization of its public funds, and the Pacific Games Organization Act 2013 aimed for the successful implementation of the PG2019 in Tonga”, the statement said.
“The PG2019 belongs to the Pacific Games Council (PGC) but its successful implementation depends to a larger extent in the hosting country – the recipient of their product. The Government of Tonga, as a sovereign state, is not to submit to the PGC to decide for Tonga on who to employ to facilitate the PG2019”.
They taught children how to perform Tongan dances and sing Tongan songs. They also taught them how to speak and write in Tongan.
These are some of the reasons why the Tongan Society South Canterbury (TSSC) in the South Island of New Zealand was established in February.
The membership is open to any ethnicities and anyone who would like to join.
Based in Timaru, the president of the organisation Sina Latu “hoped the society would help the community connect with their heritage”.
“Some came and left because of the cold weather, but some like it here because Timaru is small enough to raise children,” Latu was quoted by Timaru Herald as saying.
“We can maintain our traditions and be connected.”
“A lot of Tongans come over for rugby and bring their families.”
Tongan composer, broadcaster and orator Tauʻatevalu has died, aged 78.
Known for his good voice and composition of lyrics, he had a long involvement with the Tongan media.
He died on May 23 at his Falengameesi residence in ‘Utulau.
He composed many Tongan songs which were played by different string group bands including the Fōfōʻanga, Vākaunahu, Mosimosi Koula and Fotuelongo.
Among his songs played most frequently by Tonga Broadcasting Commission radio since the 1970s were the songs played by the Vākaunahu, in which the first line of the first verse begins “Tulou mo e Pangai ‘o Ha’a Vavanga by Vākaunahu.” ‘Ōnia, played by Fōfōʻanga club, was also played many times.
In the 1990s he composed several songs for the annual Tongan National Music Competition Week. They were played by the Mosimosi Koula from Maʻufanga and Fotuelongo from Tofoa.
He wrote a paper, ‘Ko e Pule’anga Tonga’ (‘The Tongan Government’) which was published by the Ministry of Education in volume two of the journal Tala ‘o Tonga in 1990.
In the paper, which was written in Tongan, Tauʻatevalu said religion had always had a great influence on how the Tongan governing body formed and operated even before the arrival of Christianity and the establishment of modern government.
Various sources who spoke to Kaniva News about Tauʻatevalu’s composition ‘Ōnia said that he expressed his reaction to an incident which caused him to leave his position at the Ministry of Agriculture.
Tauʻatevalu was one of the first Tongans to be sent to New Zealand to study in this field and there were high hopes he would one day hold one of the top positions in the Ministry. However, this was not the case and he ended up at the media industry for most his life.
The word ‘Ōnia was a Tongan word coined from the English word onyx.
Born as Siosiua Holitei Fonua, he was appointed to the chiefly title Tauʻatevalu in 1988.
His career with the Ministry of Agriculture began with his appointment as an Agricultural Assistant Grade 2 in April 1959, before he was promoted as Senior Agricultural Assistant in 1964.
His competency in translating Tongan and English languages came to light in 1966 after he was appointed as an Interpreter for the Council of Agriculture in Vava’u.
He was appointed as Audio Visual Officer in June 23, 1971 and was the first Tongan to become the editor of the government-sponsored newspaper, the Chronicle from 1973 – 1976.
He started working for the Tonga Broadcasting Commission(TBC) on November 11, 1975.
In the 1980s he was the acting General Manager of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission.
As a member of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga Tau’atevalu worked as a Communication Officer at the church’s office before he became the Public Relations Officer at Tongasat in 1996, a position he held before he retired.
Tau’atevalu was buried on May 26.
He is survived by his four children with grandchildren.
Editor’s note:We have edited this story to change what we said before as the English word used by Tau’atevalu to coin the Tongan word ‘Ōnia. The English word was onyx according to Tauʻatevaluʻs daughter Lākai Fonua. “The black onyx is a powerful spiritual stone that has many meanings and applications. It is known as the “stone of protection” because it wards off negative energy and attracts good luck. It is also believed to be a protective agent against psychic attacks”.
The main points
Tongan composer, broadcaster and orator Tau’atevalu has died, aged 78.
Known for his good voice and composition of lyrics, he had a long involvement with the Tongan media.
He composed many Tongan songs which were played by different string group bands including the Fofo’anga, Vakaunahu, Mosimosi Koula and Fotuelongo.
He was the first Tongan to become editor of the government-sponsored newspaper, the Chronicle in 1973.
